15 Notable Books of 2015

“Between the World and Me,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Spiegel & Grau). Modeled after James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time,” in which Baldwin encourages his nephew to rise above the anger simmering around race in 1960s America, “Between the World and Me” takes the form of a letter from Coates to his teenage son. An unblinking examination of how it feels to be black in America, Coates’ poignant memoir critiques American history and the racial falsehoods on which this history is built. less

“Between the World and Me,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Spiegel & Grau). Modeled after James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time,” in which Baldwin encourages his nephew to rise above the anger simmering around ... more

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“The Buried Giant,” by Kazuo Ishiguro (Knopf). Set in late-5th-century Britain, when Saxons were settling the country and upsetting the status quo, “The Buried Giant” contemplates collective forgetfulness — in a married couple and in society at large. War is in the air, and something else about the air makes people forgetful. The cast includes a brave knight named Wistan; a young knight named Edwin, bent on avenging his mother’s death; and Beatrice and Axl, an elderly couple who’ve set out on a perilous journey to help remember their past. This is the first novel in a decade from Ishiguro, best known for “The Remains of the Day.” less

“The Buried Giant,” by Kazuo Ishiguro (Knopf). Set in late-5th-century Britain, when Saxons were settling the country and upsetting the status quo, “The Buried Giant” contemplates collective ... more

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“Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things,” by Jenny Lawson (Flatiron Books). Like her best-selling 2012 memoir “Let’s Pretend This Never Happened,” “Furiously Happy” mines the life of Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess: her marriage to Victor, their bonkers conversations, her role as lively Hailey’s mother, her love of odd taxidermy. Also, her physical illnesses, chiefly rheumatoid arthritis, and her mental illness: depression, anxiety and other attendant disorders. Lawson, who lives in Texas and blogs at
thebloggess.com, is a bit of a magician. She can rope you into her antics and make her wonderfully odd musings seem, for a moment, utterly rational. less

“Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things,” by Jenny Lawson (Flatiron Books). Like her best-selling 2012 memoir “Let’s Pretend This Never Happened,” “Furiously Happy” mines the life of ... more

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“God Help the Child,” by Toni Morrison (Knopf Doubleday). For more than five decades, the Nobel Prize-winning Morrison has been writing about why black lives matter in some of the finest fiction of this century and the last. “God Help the Child” is not her best work, but it delivers her characteristic fierceness. Bride is a dark-skinned 23-year-old beauty who works as regional manager of a cosmetics company. Raised by a high-yellow mother embarrassed by her daughter’s blue-black skin, Bride must come to terms with her past and future. “God Help the Child” considers the legacy mothers leave their children — an inheritance of mistakes, missteps and imperfections. less

“God Help the Child,” by Toni Morrison (Knopf Doubleday). For more than five decades, the Nobel Prize-winning Morrison has been writing about why black lives matter in some of the finest fiction of this ... more

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“Go Set a Watchman,” by Harper Lee (HarperCollins). An early draft of the Pulitzer-winning “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Go Set a Watchman” is neither prequel nor sequel. As a novel in its own right, “Watchman” suffers from afflictions common to early drafts: saggy plotting, intellectual woolgathering and the absence of an ending. But read as a draft, “Watchman” is a fascinating artifact, exposing the seeds of a story that bloomed into an American classic. less

“Go Set a Watchman,” by Harper Lee (HarperCollins). An early draft of the Pulitzer-winning “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Go Set a Watchman” is neither prequel nor sequel. As a novel in its own right, ... more

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“A House of My Own: Stories From My Life,” by Sandra Cisneros (Knopf). Cisneros, who lived for decades in San Antonio, collects seemingly odd parts — older pieces of writing, lectures, newspaper articles, keynote speeches, stories finally finding their way onto the page — and assembles them into one beating whole. Each piece comes with a brief introduction, which offers context and, sometimes, reflection, on the life of a Latina writer who made her name three decades ago with her story collection “The House on Mango Street.” Cisneros was among the first Latinas to have her work taught in schools and universities. less

“Loving Day,” by Mat Johnson (Spiegel & Grau). Warren Duffy is mixed: His mother was black and his father was white. Although he identifies as black, Warren looks kind of white. This reality is the soul of Johnson’s funny book about serious matters. As Warren resettles in Philly after his father’s death, he inherits a crumbling mansion and a teenage daughter, Tal, he never knew he had. Warren and Tal join a mixed-race school — Warren dubs it “Mulattopia” — and try to find a place in a community that embraces the gray (often hilariously) in a black-and-white world. Johnson, a creative writing professor at the University of Houston, sold Showtime the rights to this book. less

“Loving Day,” by Mat Johnson (Spiegel & Grau). Warren Duffy is mixed: His mother was black and his father was white. Although he identifies as black, Warren looks kind of white. This reality is the soul of ... more

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“Olympic Butter Gold: Poems,” by Jonathan Moody (Northwestern University Press). This collection, winner of the 2014 Cave Canem Northwestern University Press Poetry Prize, springs from hip-hop culture and weighs in on politics, love, fatherhood, the death of black radio and much more. In a poem titled “Houston,” Moody, a local poet who teaches at Pearland High, describes the city: “Where allergy forecasts report high levels of ragweed/ rebellion. Where pigeons toss bread crusts to politicians./ Where rain is an estranged mother.” less

“Olympic Butter Gold: Poems,” by Jonathan Moody (Northwestern University Press). This collection, winner of the 2014 Cave Canem Northwestern University Press Poetry Prize, springs from hip-hop culture and ... more

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“Our Souls at Night,” by Kent Haruf (Knopf). Haruf died in 2014, and this slim book, a quietly devastating finale to his cycle of novels set in the tiny fictional town of Holt, Colo., is enough to make readers miss his voice all over again. Haruf’s is a voice of the Plains, a voice sensitive to changes in light and the seasons, a voice that understands the drama of life in a small town. “Our Souls at Night” follows Addie and Louis in the twilight of their lives — a widow and widower who haven’t given up on intimacy. less

“Our Souls at Night,” by Kent Haruf (Knopf). Haruf died in 2014, and this slim book, a quietly devastating finale to his cycle of novels set in the tiny fictional town of Holt, Colo., is enough to make ... more

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“Paradise Sky,” by Joe R. Lansdale (Little, Brown and Co.). A sweeping Western epic on the scale of “Lonesome Dove,” “Paradise Sky” also is Lansdale at his funniest and most energetic. The Nacogdoches author writes as Nat Love — a legendary cowboy also known as Deadwood Dick — in a voice that’s both educated and raw, with dialogue reminiscent of Elmore Leonard. Even if you’re not particularly fond of Westerns, “Paradise Sky” is addictive fun. less

“Paradise Sky,” by Joe R. Lansdale (Little, Brown and Co.). A sweeping Western epic on the scale of “Lonesome Dove,” “Paradise Sky” also is Lansdale at his funniest and most energetic. The ... more

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“Purity,” by Jonathan Franzen (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). Although it reaches across three continents, “Purity” also worms its way into the most intimate relationships. Like all of Franzen’s novels, “Purity” dives deep into the river of how it feels to live now. The sprawling plot that spins around a young woman named Purity, or Pip for short, also incorporates socialism, murder, spyware, a nuclear warhead, drugs, feminism, breathtaking Bolivian vistas and billions of dollars. less

“Purity,” by Jonathan Franzen (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). Although it reaches across three continents, “Purity” also worms its way into the most intimate relationships. Like all of Franzen’s novels, ... more

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“The Rap Year Book,” by Shea Serrano and Arturo Torres (Abrams Image). Serrano, a Houston resident, chose one rap song per year between 1978 and 2014 to create a compact timeline with thoughtful commentary on the evolution of rap music. The elements that created these enduring songs — themes, narrative devices, stylistic choices — rise to the surface thanks to Serrano’s observations and helpful graphs and illustrations by Torres. “The Rap Year Book” proves as thoughtful as it is playful, a combination not often found in histories. less

“The Rap Year Book,” by Shea Serrano and Arturo Torres (Abrams Image). Serrano, a Houston resident, chose one rap song per year between 1978 and 2014 to create a compact timeline with thoughtful commentary ... more

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“Uncovered: How I Left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home,” by Leah Lax (She Writes Press). For three decades, Houston writer Leah Lax lived a Hasidic life. She dressed modestly to please God, wearing a wig or scarf and clothing that covered her legs, arms and body. She strove to accept that fulfillment would come through marriage and motherhood. She kept a kosher home and raised seven children. But as the years passed, Lax began to struggle, question, bristle, write — until the light from a different kind of life peeked through the cracks of her rigid routine. less

“Uncovered: How I Left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home,” by Leah Lax (She Writes Press). For three decades, Houston writer Leah Lax lived a Hasidic life. She dressed modestly to please God, wearing a ... more

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“Whisper Hollow,” by Chris Cander (Other Press). Set in a fictional West Virginia coal-mining town, Cander’s multigenerational story stretches from 1916 to 1969, tracing a handful of characters whose hardscrabble lives overlap in a place where money is scarce, men work the mines and women keep house. The three women who drive the plot — Myrthen, Alta and Lidia — have deep, difficult secrets, some more deadly than others. A haunting and beautifully written book from a Houston writer. less

“Whisper Hollow,” by Chris Cander (Other Press). Set in a fictional West Virginia coal-mining town, Cander’s multigenerational story stretches from 1916 to 1969, tracing a handful of characters whose ... more

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“The Witches: Salem, 1692,” by Stacy Schiff. (Little, Brown and Co.) Schiff, author of the acclaimed “Cleopatra: A Life,” helps readers understand the warped logic of the famous trials. The accusations were baseless and sometimes drunken, and accusers tended to put on ridiculous performances at trial. Instead of a dry history, “The Witches” offers a tonally complex and novelistic account of an era burning with paranoia and superstition. less

“The Witches: Salem, 1692,” by Stacy Schiff. (Little, Brown and Co.) Schiff, author of the acclaimed “Cleopatra: A Life,” helps readers understand the warped logic of the famous trials. The accusations ... more

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15 Notable Books of 2015

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Every list needs an explanation, particularly when it arrives in the blizzard of “Best” and “Worst” lists that carries us from the end of one year into the beginning of the next.

This “notable” books list gathers titles from near and far, from presses large and small. Some titles have received lots of national buzz; some haven’t.
This list, like all lists, is an exercise in failure.

No one can read all the books published in any given year. And it’s worth noting that people who live in Houston likely read more books by Houstonians than, say, people who live in Ann Arbor.

So this selection of titles aims to remind readers of 15 significant contributions across literature — “Go Set a Watchman” appears not because it’s an excellent book, but because of its relation to an excellent book — with an eye to the richness and diversity in our own back yard.